The competition among the political parties of Tamil Nadu to champion the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils is causing more problems than offering any concrete solution (“With fair-weather friends like these …,” March 28). The tendencies of the principal Dravidian parties amply demonstrate that the Centre’s role in matters of foreign policy is being undermined. The parties are only endangering the lives of Tamils in Sri Lanka.
P.S.S. Murthy,
Hyderabad
The revival of Tamil separatism, in Sri Lanka or India, should be nipped in the bud. India stands weakened by coalition politics. Before we go the USSR way, we need effective leadership that can assert itself.
N.K. Raveendran,
Bangalore
It is not the DMK alone that is responsible for rabble-rousing on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, although it has outdone all other parties. Under the leadership of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, the State Assembly has passed a resolution calling for a referendum on the creation of Eelam. Rajiv Gandhi worked out a decent settlement with Jayewardene which was scuttled by the LTTE. The Tigers are as much to blame as Mahinda Rajapaksa for the mess the island nation finds itself in. Everyone was disturbed on seeing the photograph of Prabakaran’s son’s bullet-ridden body. But we should ponder over the fate of hundreds of Balachandrans recruited as child soldiers by the LTTE, who wore cyanide capsules around their necks and took AK-47 rifles in their hands to fight the army.
T.K.L. Shriram,
Tiruchi
Sankaran Krishna is right in saying that it would be naïve on the part of Sri Lankan Tamils to repose faith in parties like the DMK and the AIADMK. Many parties in Tamil Nadu are out to prove that they are second to none in protecting the interests of Sri Lankan Tamils. These gimmicks will continue till the parliamentary elections.
P.K. Raman,
Tiruchi
